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Prosecutor: South Korean man will not be extradited to U.S. in Hackettstown schools lockdown case

hackettstown lockdown news conference

Hackettstown schools Superintendent David Mango, flanked by Warren County Prosecutor Richard Burke and other law enforcement officials, speaks today at a news conference. A photo is displayed of Dae Woong Lee, a South Korean armed forces member who allegedly made the calls that spurred a lockdown of area schools last year.
(Express-Times Photo | TIM WYNKOOP)

View full sizeA photo of Dae Woong Lee is displayed at a news conference this morning in Hackettstown. The 20-year-old member of the South Korean armed forces is charged with making threatening phone calls last year that led to the lock-down of several schools in the Warren County town. Express-Times Photo | TIM WYNKOOP

Culminating the investigation that has carried on since the March 2012 incident, Warren County Prosecutor Richard Burke announced today that Dae Woong Lee was charged by South Korean officials with obstruction of business. The charge carries a penalty of up to five years in jail and a fine of 15 million South Korean won, the equivalent of roughly $15,000.Should U.S. authorities try to extradite the South Korean man accused in the Hackettstown schools lockdown?Burke said there are no plans to extradite Lee to the United States for prosecution, noting that the charges he faces in South Korea would be similar to what would be brought against him here. Although formally charged, Lee was not in police custody today in South Korea, Burke said.

Burke heralded the arrest and charging of Lee as a clear deterrent to these types of crimes, noting that "in Warren County, we're not going to tolerate it."

"We're not going to allow threats to our community and to our children go unpunished," Burke said.

He added that in his time as prosecutor, he had never seen anything similar to this case.

"It's certainly unique to me," said Burke, who took office in March 2012.

Social media connection

View full sizeWarren County dispatcher Bennett Rymon speaks today at a news conference. Rymon handled the 911 call in which threatening statements were made against Hackettstown schools last year.Express-Times Photo | TIM WYNKOOP

On March 26, 2012, the Warren County emergency dispatch center received two calls from a man
claiming to be Kevin McGowan, 19, and threatening to kill
students, including one specific student, with an AK-47 rifle, Burke said.

An Express-Times reporter
who was allowed in the communications center while the episode unfolded
overheard the caller indicate he lived at 4 Warren St. in Hackettstown,
a nonexistent address.

According to 911 transcripts,
the man referred to the alleged AK-47 in his possession as his
"beautiful friend." He said he was from Sweden and
throughout the calls sang along with songs by hip-hop artists Eminem,
Wiz Khalifa and Kanye West.

The man said he was in the woods near Hackettstown High School. The
school district went into lockdown and local, state and county
authorities mobilized before determining there was no "imminent
threat" and allowing students to go home, the prosecutor's office
said.

Burke revealed today that the specifically targeted student, a
female, had previously conversed with Lee via social media. At the time,
authorities said Lee identified the student as his ex-girlfriend,
who he claimed was
a student at Hackettstown High School and had broken up with him five
months earlier.

Any further connection between Lee and the area is
unknown, as is any hint at a motive,
Burke said. Burke added that to his knowledge, Lee never visited the Hackettstown area.

Authorities would not specify what social medium may have been used in the alleged conversations between Lee and the female. Burke said there are no plans to charge her.

Tracing the calls

Due to the high-tech nature of the investigation, it was turned over
to New Jersey State Police, who brought in the Middle Atlantic-Great
Lakes Organized Crime Law Enforcement Network, the prosecutor's office
said. At the federal level, the U.S. Marshals Service, U.S. Department of Homeland
Security, FBI and U.S. Attorney's Office also joined the
probe, Burke said.

Also assisting in the case were Easton police, New York police and several local departments in Wisconsin. Burke declined to comment on each department's role in the investigation.

It was determined the calls came from outside the United States and
Homeland Security used contacts in South Korea to further the
investigation, the prosecutor's office said. Officials today would not specify what type of phone Lee allegedly used to make the calls but said they believe he used an application, which they did not name, in an effort to render the calls untraceable.

The Seoul Metropolitan
Police Agency located and, on Jan. 27, interviewed a suspect, Burke said. He was arrested June 3 by HSI Seoul Special Agents and subsequently charged.

Hackettstown schools Superintendent David Mango said today he was pleased to see charges being brought against Lee and valued the "learning process" that the incident presented.

"As educators, so often we impress upon parents and our students about consequences to actions," Mango said. "So, I'm very happy there will be some consequence to this gentleman's bad choice."